Graduation Requirements

As a public charter high school, all of our students must follow the Texas Education Agency's graduation requirements in the foundation high school program. Download the current TEA graduation toolkit and find out about the new endorsement programs. KAPS is currently offering the Arts & Humanities and Multidisciplinary endorsement.

Resources

Read the ConsumerAffairs free Student Loan guide designed to benefit students. With the high cost of post-secondary school education, the majority of college students need to borrow money to help finance their future. Many counselors suggest students start researching college loans as early as sophomore year. The guide is a completely free resource designed to help students make the right consumer decisions for themselves. Visit the webpage now.

"A Gap Year is a period of time between completing high school and beginning college when a student steps outside the traditional classroom experience. This is a time to explore the world, reflect on their personal values and goals, and prepare to take the next purposeful step in life. Gap Year programs give students a developmental advantage over their peers by providing them with an opportunity to expand their perspective and gain direction that give the college years meaning and focus. For many students, Gap Year programs provide them with time to develop independence and confidence as well as pursue various fields of interest.

Almost all Gap Year Programs have a focus on Education, Service and Personal Growth. The education students receive is based on learning outside the classroom, engaging the world they live in, and broadening their perspective. During the Gap Year almost all students participate in some form of community service. Typical efforts include working with an orphanage, teaching English in a foreign country, working with endangered species, providing meals for the homeless, or some other form of necessary service. All students undergo personal growth while on a Gap Year Program by developing independence, sharpening their focus, and learning practical life skills. The advantages Gap Year brings are an invaluable component in the development of any young adult.

The popularity of Gap Year is growing at an exponential rate in the United States. It is publicly promoted at some of the most well known universities including Harvard, Princeton, Tufts and New York University. Some of these universities even openly encourage students to take a Gap Year in their acceptance letters. In 2009 Princeton University took the lead by creating their Bridge Year program which provides need-blind financial aid for a portion of incoming freshman to take a Gap Year. In an article talking about Gap Year, the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard University, William Fitzsimmons, stated, "Normally a total of about fifty to seventy students defer (Harvard) college until the next year. The results have been uniformly positive. Harvard's overall graduation rate of 98% is among the highest in the nation, perhaps in part because so many students take time off."

www.thurgoodmarshallfund.net – provide scholarships, programmatic and capacity building support to the 47 public Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

www.gmsp.org – The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program provides outstanding low income African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline they choose

www.collegefund.org – provides Native students with scholarships and financial support for the nation’s 33 accredited tribal colleges and universities

www.dellscholars.org – Dell Scholars Program recognizes academic potential and determination in students that have a definite need for financial assistance

www.uncf.org – awards 10,000 students each year through 400 scholarship and internship programs so that students from low- and moderate-income families can afford college tuition, books and room and board

Statement of Non-Discrimination:The Katherine Anne Porter School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic identification, political affiliation, or disability in matters affecting employment or in providing access to programs to employees.